Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) blasted the “targeting” of President Donald Trump’s political opponents after it was reported he had been referred to the Justice Department by a top housing official in the Trump administration on Friday on allegations of mortgage fraud in Washington, D.C..
Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi alleging that Swalwell may have made false or misleading statements in loan documents for a home in the nation’s capital, per NBC News.
“As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me,” Swalwell said.
The Washington Examiner contacted the DOJ for confirmation.
Swalwell is the fourth Democratic official to face mortgage fraud allegations in the months since Trump took office for the second time.
The California Democrat was one of the first Democrats to call for an investigation into Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 election during Trump’s first administration. He has sued the president over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Pulte previously sent criminal referrals to the DOJ for two other prominent Democratic critics of Trump: New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff (CA). He also criminally referred Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, to the DOJ. All three have denied wrongdoing.
“Like James Comey and John Bolton, Adam Schiff and Lisa Cook, Letitia James and the dozens more to come — I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world,” Swalwell said, listing other targets of the Trump administration. “Of course, I will not end my lawsuit against him. And I will not stop speaking out against the President and speaking up for Californians.”
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“As Mark Twain said, ‘Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.’ Mr. President, do better. Be Better,” Swalwell added.
Swalwell has been a frequent target of Republicans, claiming that he had ties to a suspected Chinese spy and was compromised by a foreign intelligence agency. Swalwell, who has denied the allegations, faced a House Ethics Committee investigation, but it closed in 2023 with no conclusion that he committed any wrongdoing.